Another Epic Ending
by imahyper1
Summary: Alternate ending to the movie Epic. Instead, MK is chosen as the new Queen of the Forest and everything changes. Shippings: Nod/MK Ronin/Tara ENJOY :D
1. Chapter 1 - The New Queen

**Soo, heeeeey. This is my second fanfic but my first story so i'm super excited! I saw the movie Epic and i loved it but I HATED THE ENDING! so i did what every overly imaginative author would do: i made up my own in my mind and pretended it was the real one! So basically, this is an alternate ending of Epic! I hope you enjoy and i have some of my own explanations of things that were in the movie that weren't explained (or i missed). I'm a big romantic :))) so i included some MK/Nod stuff and a little bit of Ronin/Queen Tara. Hope you enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW (its what keeps me going :D) Allons-y!**

The bud! She had to reach the bud before it bloomed.

MK raced away from her father to reach Moonhaven. She'd explain the whole situation to him **after** she was big again.

As she ran up the stairs to the bud it suddenly hit her what she'd be giving up. She'd lose all the beauty this small world held. All the excitement and things to explore. The possibilities, all the amazing chances and things she didn't discover yet. All the new friends she had made. Nod. She shooed away those thoughts_. Don't be ridiculous_, she told herself. _You can't give up your entire life to a world you don't belong to. Your duty is not to this world, you came here by accident. You did what was right, now you need to return to..._ To what? _My father, of course_. That's what mattered to her. She had to go back for her dad. But then what? She'd be off to college soon. Which would she rather do: go to 4 more years of school with people she doesn't know, or live with a tiny civilization of leaf warriors and have adventures with amazing friends and creatures?

_No_, she thought firmly. _This is not my world_.

She flew up the final steps, through the crowd and into the small clearing that surrounded the bud as it blossomed. It was almost completely open.

She heaved a sigh of relief. She'd made it. She can go back to her old life of... stomper stuff. She allowed herself a moment of content relief and sullenly turned around to face her friends.

"I guess this is it you guys," she said with a small smile and a shrug.

Ronin smiled back and gave a slight bow. Mub gave a sad wave and Grub sniffed. When MK set her eyes on Nod, he had looked away. She decided to walk over to him since it would be the last time they could actually talk face to face.

He looked up as he saw her coming over and gave her a sad smile.

"So I'll see ya around, yeah?"

She shrugged a little and smiled back, "Yeah".

The awkwardness she felt sometimes around him returned and she felt like their sad goodbye needed closure, so she disappointedly stuck out her hand for a shake, like they did before. This isn't how she'd wanted to leave him, but he obviously didn't have the same feelings for her that she did for him.

Nod looked down at MK's outstretched hand and took it in his. Then he gathered his courage he'd been missing and did what he wanted to do since the deer ride. He pulled her to him with their joined hands and kissed her. At first MK was too shocked to respond, but she soon gathered her wits and kissed him back.

After they broke apart, MK searched her love-struck mind for words to say.

"Nod, I-"

She was cut off by the light entering the room. Surprised, she turned around to find the blossom glowing. Soon the shimmering form of Queen Tara was in the room with them, smiling down at the group of leafmen. Her light essence swirled around the room until it came to a stop near MK. The small stomper stepped forward, out of Nod's arms that she didn't even know were around her. Queen Tara smiled down at MK.

"Mary Katherine, you've done a great good for this forest and its people, but there is one more thing I need you to do for me..." She looked at the group behind MK, singling out her love and smiling big at him. "Take care of them for me, will you?" she said without turning her eyes back to MK.

Ronin stepped forward and smiled at his dead love.

"There's that smile," she said warmly, and then her light swirled around the room again, this time making a wind that seemed to affect MK more than anyone else. As her feet left the ground she grabbed hold of Nod's arm slightly, but soon let go realizing it was Queen Tara's doing. Nod looked up a little panicked as he lost sight of MK in the beautiful swirl that filled the room. It seemed that every flower had somehow joined into the light show Queen Tara had created, making light and nature dance around each other. Then suddenly it all converged on one point on the floor. The area where the light congregated was still glowing softly and Nod ran over to find MK lying on the ground looking quite different.

MK came around to find Nod's brown eyes staring into hers. She sat up and looked around the room. She looked for her dad, her dog, anything to do with her old life, but she found hundreds of eyes planted on her from the leafmen. Their faces were shocked, confused, skeptical, and some a little angry, but MK didn't know what was going on.

"Are you okay?" asked Nod, concerned.

"Ye-yeah, but what's with..." she trailed of as she looked down at herself and notices what she was wearing. Mouth slightly open in shock, Nod helped her stand up as she looked at herself. She was wearing a beautiful gown similar to Queen Tara's but a different cut. She felt her hair and found it in an elaborate and gorgeous bun, not the sloppy ponytail she usually wore. She felt different, more alive, she felt the power of the forest pumping through her vains. She looked up to find everyone's eyes on her.

Still not quite believing what her eyes told her, her suspicions were proven true when someone called out, "All hail the new Queen of the Forest!"

MK's eyes widened as she saw the leafmen drop, one by one, to their knees. Even Ronin knelt. The new queen turned and looked at a very surprised and flabbergasted Nod, who seemed to find his wits and knelt also. As she gaped at the crowd of bowing soldiers, she processed the new information she still had trouble believing. This couldn't be happening, not to her, she was supposed to go home. She wasn't supposed to be the queen. _No_, she thought, _no this is wrong... I can't be queen; I need to go home... No,_

"No! I can't!" She hadn't realized she said the last words out loud.

Surprised sounds filled the room. Everyone stood up and Ronin stepped forward to MK.

"What?" he asked gently, like he knew the situation was fragile but he couldn't believe what he had heard.

"I don't belong here. Coming here was just a big accident. This isn't my world; I don't know half the things your children know! I couldn't lead drills on my soccer team, let alone lead an entire civilization! I have to get back to my dad, my life, my school, my WORLD. I've stayed here long enough as it is..."

On and on she went, voicing the terrified thoughts in her head when really her heart was overjoyed. She could stay, if there was no other choice, in the tiny little place she'd learned to love. But her mind had to say the logical stuff, the facts that make sense. _But how much sense am I really making_, she asked herself, _if I don't want to agree with the facts_...

"And why would you even need me? The Boggan king is dead! The forest is safe, right? I mean, I know th-"

She was cut off by Ronin grabbing her shoulders. He held her steady and looked into her eyes firmly.

"You joining us was no accident. Queen Tara chose you to protect the bud, and now she's chosen you to help the forest. Leading is just one part of the job, and don't think you won't have any help. We're all here to assist you behind the scenes. To guide you when you don't know what to do. But the truth of the matter is, these people need a leader, a symbol, and you have been chosen. You haven't given up before," Ronin released her now that she had calmed down, "And I'd hate to see you give in now."

He gave her a reassuring smile and stepped out of her way. MK stepped forward and looked out at all the people she now led. She took a deep breath, but suddenly an overwhelming fatigue took over her. She felt herself sway and hands behind her grabbed her waist. She opened her mouth to say something but found herself falling into the strong arms behind her as she slid into unconsciousness.

**So this was just the set up. my main ideas are to come so stay tuned! please follow and comment! i'm not really good at the whole update every week thing (well, i dont know what i'm good at this is my first time) but i'll try to update as soon as possible. I have all the ideas in my head and they just need to be written down ^_^! au revoir!**


	2. Chapter 2 - The Desolate Beauty

**Bonjour! First off- I'm super excited about the response I got from the first chapter! I mean, 20 followers, 12 favs and 7 reviews (FANGIRL ^_^)?! THANKS YOU GUYS! As my first story, I never expected getting over 3 reviews **** especially when I'm writing in a POV I'm not super comfortable with. That said, I'm thinking about making my next chapter in 1****st**** person POV starting with MK and maybe switching off to the other main characters. Ya see, I get my writing 'ability' from reading books, and most of the books I've read are in first person. I feel like I can get deeper into a character and just make it more personalized. I picked 3****rd**** person for this because it WAS a movie, so I should let my 3½ readers think of it as a movie, right? but I reread my first chapter and I feel it wasn't as… personal as it could have been. Anyway here is the second chapter (in 3****rd**** person) and I hope you enjoy! Allons-y!**

MK opened her eyes to herself surrounded by pink. Wait, pink? Yes, pink! Her old bedroom, the pink mess that she had as a little girl. She was back in her old room, in her old house, with her dad. It must have been a dream, all of it. I mean, tiny people? Riding birds and talking to slugs? She laughed at her active imagination and sat up to go find her dad.

She stopped dead as she saw she was instead sitting in a hut, made up of intertwined twigs and beautiful pink flowers for decoration. She sighed and suddenly pain exploded in her head. She leaned forward and pressed her hand to her forehead.

"Easy there," said a familiar voice, though a little fuzzy.

She gave a small laugh, "I feel like I got kicked in the head by a horse."

"A what?" said Ronin's voice, more clear now.

"Never mind, what happened?"

"You mean you don't remember?"

"No-well yes-I think, but I want to make sure I'm right before I sound insane," she said as she opened her eyes to look at her friend.

"Well, you reached the bud in time, were sent into the air on a current of light, and now you're the Queen of the Forest. You were about to speak to the leafmen before you passed out," he said nonchalantly with a sympathetic smile.

MK looked at him, eyes wide, and then nodded, "Yep, that's what I thought."

She glanced down and saw the gorgeous gown she had appeared in after Queen Tara chose her. There was no question about it, she was the queen. She searched into herself to find how she felt about, but she only felt… numb. And lightheaded.

"So what know?" she asked looking inquiringly up at the leafman.

"You rest."

"Do all new queens get sick when they get chosen?"

"No, but your no ordinary queen. You were a stomper. A shrunken stomper had never been heard of before, let alone the idea of one becoming Queen on the Forest, but never the less you _are_ our queen, and we need you healthy so you can address the people."

"But I feel f-"she gasped as another wave of pain erupted in her head, "Yea I guess you're right." She said as she lied back down and Ronin left.

The next time she woke up she felt another presence in the room, but only a dull ache in her head. She sat up and looked at the flowers she thought were the walls of her old room. They were beautiful but simple, and the ends of the petals drooped to the floor. She reached out and gently touched one of the petals. She was surprised when the flower reacted to her touch. The petals stiffed and the drooping ends rose up. It seemed to gravitate towards her then settle, perfectly content to be nearer to her. The flower looked more… well, alive. MK gave a breath of exasperation and stroked the petal.

"Wow," she whispered to herself.

"You're getting the hang of that, are you?" MK jumped at the sound of Nod's teasing voice behind her. She turned around and found him leaning against one of the walls with that half-smile he always wears on. It took her a second to comprehend what he had said, then shrugged.

"I didn't really _do_ anything. How does that work?"

"Beats me, for some reason they wouldn't let me be queen."

"Yeah, yeah, alright. So how long have I been out?"

"Only a couple weeks"

"WEEKS?" she bolted up out of the bed, but swayed as her head ached.

Nod held her up by her arms, "Take it easy, I'm only kidding. You were out for about a day."

She pushed his shoulder and wobbled over to the window, but soon regretted it. Crowds of people were packed into the small space outside, what MK guessed was, the hospital. She backed away before she was noticed and Nod stepped up behind her.

"Should I tell them you're awake or do you wish to keep your eardrums?" he asked as they looked out on the crowd.

"So what happened after my… tired spell?"

"Well after you completely _blacked out_, I had to carry you to the hospital while hundreds of people were trying to either help or get a good look at the new queen. Ronin had to round up a group of his finest leafmen to get through the crowds."

They stood there for a while looking out over the crowds of forest creatures who were waiting for MK to wake up. Their observations were disrupted when the door behind them opened and a small group of leafmen stepped in, leaded by none other than Ronin. He greeted them and addressed MK.

"We can get you to your own home for the day to rest and get emotionally stable. I know this is a big change, and the leafmen want you to be as comfortable as possible. Follow me please."

MK and Nod looked at each other and followed the warriors out of the hospital. As they walked towards the crowd MK realized why they needed a group of warriors to escort her, the crowds were basically crawling over the leafmen to get a look at her. MK suddenly found herself being self-conscious. The striking bun her hair was in had fallen out and her messy hair hung loose around her shoulders. Her gown she knew was beautiful suddenly seemed to girly and young. She fidgeted with the leafy dress and her stringy hair all the way to their destination until she saw where she was actually heading.

Her mouth dropped as she looked at the giant (in a tiny way) hut hidden away in the trees, surrounded by nature. At a glance, it looked like a pile of branches and leafs, but up close MK could see all the intertwined branches and twigs. The leaves that looked like they were messy and random were actually woven in complicated and beautiful patterns. The group led the new queen to an opening inside one of the trees connected to the hut, leaving the crowd far behind. MK ducked through a small unnoticeable opening in the bark, into a dark room. Once here eyes adjusted to the new light she saw she was inside the tree. It was hollow and had stairs spiraling up the walls. They walked up the stairs until they were about half way up the tree. The stairs kept going, so MK didn't understand why they had stopped.

She looked questioningly at Ronin but he just stepped past her and searched the wall of the tree with his hand. Apparently he found what he was looking for because he nodded then reached out for MK's hand. Confused, she put her hand in his hesitantly. He gently put it on the bark. For a moment, nothing happened, but then the spot under her hand glowed and became warmer. Shocked, she tried to pull her hand away, but Ronin held her firmly on spot. Suddenly, swirls of pink light reached out of her hand on the wall, and then went on to trace a large arc from the floor to a little above MK.

The pink glow disappeared and the hollow tree seemed desolate. Then one of the leafmen pushed the wall, and it swung open like a door in the exact shape the glowing light had traced. MK filled through the door behind a couple others and stopped dead when she saw the scene in front of her. Where they **were** wasn't the surprising part. They were inside the hidden hut MK had seen from outside, she knew that, but she never expected the interior.

One would never believe the beautiful mess that was the façade of the hut hid the organized, shocking inside. The floors and walls of the hut were made of light, intertwined twigs. Some places there were intricate designs. There were two levels. The second ended with a balcony looking out over an adorned living space. Under the balcony was a kitchen of sorts, plus a door that MK guessed led to a bathroom. The entire place was decorated with flowers and leaves. MK figured at one point the nature made the place dazzling, but the flowers were nearly dead, and the leaves shriveling up. It was gloomy… The atmosphere in the group automatically changed.

MK stepped forward into the living space and looked around. As she stared at a group of dead flowers she felt a deep sorrow inside her, but she couldn't place why. I mean, the atmosphere was depressing and the dead plants were dejected, but something about the place felt…flawed. She turned around to the group. She noticed Ronin looking around the room looking almost as bad as she felt. The others weren't too cheery, either.

"This is where you will be staying, my queen, until you are ready to address the public. This can remain your abode if you wish it to be, but you may choose wherever you want to live," said one of the soldiers to MK.

"Um, thanks…?" she trailed off, not knowing the leafman's name.

"I am Lukah, my queen," he said.

"Oh, thank you Lukah, but you can, ah, call me MK," she said back.

"Good luck with that," budded in Nod, "They don't believe on being in a name to name relationship with anyone important. Ronin is captain, and the Queen of the Forest is 'My Queen'."

Ronin gave Nod a look and turned his attention back to MK. "We will search the home for any unstable or unsafe problems. It won't take long." Ronin set off with his men through the house, sullen and dutiful.

MK walked over to a drooping rose and stared at it sadly. She noticed someone step up behind her, and passed it off as one of the leafmen inspecting, but she turned to find Nod looking at her curiously.

"Are you alright? You've been acting weird ever since we got here."

MK sighed, "Yeah, just a lot to take in these past days, and something here just doesn't settle with me. It feels… wrong. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I can feel it. Why do you think that is?" he said in a way that hinted he knew why but wanted her to figure it out.

MK thought for a little while when it suddenly hit her. She raised her eyebrows in shock at her realization, but soon the sadness returned, even greater now that she knew the root.

"This is where Queen Tara lived, isn't it?" she asked Nod. No wonder all the plants were dying. They lost their queen. And Ronin…

He nodded sadly and looked away, "It's tearing Ronin apart, that's what gets to me."

MK just sighed, not knowing what to say or how to fix the situation. Unexpectedly, she had an idea. She remembered the drooping flower in her hospital room, and stepping forward, she touched a petal of the dying rose. At first, nothing happened, and MK's heart sank, but surprisingly, red started flowing into the leaf from where her fingers touched, and the petals raised themselves up. Soon a healthy, beautiful red rose stood tall in front of them. MK smiled and looked a Nod, whose eyebrows were raised in amazement. He looked back at her and their eyes met. Blood rushed to MK's cheeks as she remembered their kiss back at Moonhaven.

"Weird," he breathed. "Your eyes are brighter than before."

MK's confused response was cut off by a couple leafmen reentering the room. She turned around to face them, just a tad annoyed by the interruption. Lukah stepped forward from the group, "Everything looks good, Queen Mary Katherine, we'll leave you in peace."

"Thanks"

They bowed and exited. MK notices Ronin was not among them and was just about to go look for him when she heard a snort behind her. She turned to find Nod holding in a laugh, and failing for that matter.

"What?" she asked peevishly.

He held in a laugh long enough to say, "Queen Mary Katherine… quite a mouthful, not to mention so girly-"

She rolled her eyes and pushed his shoulders.

"Don't _ever _call me that"

"Okay! Okay," he surrendered, putting his hands up. "Mary Katherine," he muttered/coughed.

"Ugh!" she shoved him, harder this time, "How did they even know that was my name?"

"Your father," said Ronin's voice behind them.

They turned and MK's mind raced.

"My dad? How did he-"

"We contacted him the day you were out, made him aware of the situation. We talked for quite a while, though I assume it would have gone faster if he wouldn't talk so slowly."

"And… what did he say about all this?" she asked, scared of the answer.

"He said he wished to speak with you whenever you came around."

MK nodded and Ronin came closer to speak with them.

"The place looks secure," he said, still with that forced submissive attitude. "You can-"

He stopped dead when he noticed the rose, tall and shining, behind MK and Nod.

"How-" he shut his mouth as the explanation came to him. He looked at MK and smiled proudly. He bowed his head and departed the house, leaving just MK and Nod.

"So… I guess I should be going to," Nod said awkwardly.

"Yeah-I mean-if you want to."

"I do-no I mean, I don't, but you need your rest," he stumbled.

"Yeah, no-totally. And I need to fix this place up."

"Yep, well I'll see you around," he said as he walked to the exit. As he stepped through the doorway he muttered, "Queen Mary Katherine," then bolted down the stairs. MK made a sound of exasperation, marched over to the door, and shut it loudly, ignoring Nod's laughter as he sprinted down the stairwell.

She leaned back on the door and stared at the desolate room, then ran over to the nearest flower, and touched it, waiting for life to return to it. Soon the whole room was full of beautiful, blooming flowers and plants. Exhausted (for some odd reason, because there weren't many flowers to revive) she searched the downstairs, and then the upstairs to find a bed. When she finally did, she laughed, delighted.

The bed was made of layers of moss, covered in soft leaves, and the sheets were beautiful white flower petals. For some reason, these plants weren't sad and dying like the others. She lied down gratefully on the soft bed.

As she shut her eyes, she realized what a journey she was in for. First things first, even before talking to the creatures of the forest, she had to talk with her father. She let herself have one single moment of complete and utter panic overcome her, and then quickly composed herself. Then she let herself a moment of complete and utter joy. However, she let this feeling linger, and soon she lost herself in the fluffy, flowery pillows, effortlessly loosing herself to destiny, letting it take her wherever it wished.

**Okay… so I know this is sort of like the first chapter with set up and all, but I really wanted to get in this amazing house I made up in my head. I'm thinking about drawing a picture for visual effect. I've already drawn and photocopied a picture of MK's dress, but I'm waiting until next chapter to post it cause I'm actually going to describe it in detail. Also, I snuck a little Nod/MK action your way, but I couldn't really find much space for it! BUT DON'T WORRY, this story WILL have lots of fluff because that idea is where it all began! If you don't like it, GET OUT! no, im sorry, im kidding, please don't leave… ANYWAY, **_**please**_** review (it keeps me a-truckin ****) and in those beautiful reviews, TELL ME IF I SHOULD CONTINUE WITH THIRD PERSON OR NOT. . I don't want to peeve some of you off with changing the POV so tell your opinion! ****Oh, and btw i decided just to update whenever i finish a chapter, but hopefully it wont take longer than a week. this chapter happened pretty fast (in my opinion) because it was basically still set up. i want to go deeper for my next chapters so if you want quality it might take a while :] sorry in advance. ****Thanks for reading I hope you liked! Au revoir!**


	3. Chapter 3 - What She Wants

**Bonjour my friends! Okay, so first about the story: I decided to keep it in 3****rd**** person POV but keep it limited to MK. To solve my 'depth' problem, there's just going to be more thinking on her part. **** thanks LunaSolas your comment made a lot of sense to me and the flow of the story is just what I was worried about. And we'reonfire I KNOW RIGHT. I loved the movie but my feels were infuriated when I got home so I went straight to fanfiction :D and I felt like adding my own made up ending. Hope you stay tuned **** thanks to everyone who commented or faved or followed or wateva! You guys are so nice in the comments (oh, how I blush) and i'm just happy to have such nice people reading my first story! 3 [Alright, enough with the touchy stuff, on with the story!] Allons-y!**

MK woke up to the soft sound of constant knocking. Her eyes fluttered open, then, remembering what the day brought, closed them again and rolled over on the soft bed.

_Noooo, _she thought, _I can't do it. I can't talk to all those people. I'm no queen._

She let her mind wander off into a thoughtless territory, saving her from herself and her thoughts. She lay there a little longer, until her mind was forced to return to reality, when the knocking didn't stop. She made an annoyed sound and flung the sheets off onto the floor. Quickly realizing what she had done, she scooped up the beautiful spread and placed it gently back on the bed. She sighed and looked around. The bedroom was nothing special. A few flowers, not as dead as the others, but not looking too healthy, and the bed. Curious at how the process works, she stepped up to a blossom and lazily placed her hand on it.

When nothing happened, MK took her hand off and tried again. Nothing. Panic settled in. _Nothing? How can that be, I just fixed those other flowers yesterday! Did I use it all up? Oh god, I'm the worst queen ever. _After a while of constantly prodding the dead plant, MK gave up and slumped down on the floor, leaning back on the bed.

Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Ugh!" she got up quickly, irritable from her uselessness and ran over to a window. The hut was hidden well, but there were openings here and there where one could see out to the setting below. She looked through a window in the back and saw a couple figures walking just barely out of her view from the current window. She quickly searched for another, but when she found an opening, she realized it was a door. It was old and made of bark, hidden well behind a patch of flowers (now revived by MK, which only made her more frustrated with the fact she lost the ability). She gently pushed on it, and it budged. Carefully, she slid the door open, and stepped through.

She was standing in a hidden porch, covered by vines and leafs. The twig floor was covered in spiraling, snake-like lianas. She walked over to the unstable railing and took a look at the whole thing. It was decrepit, no one could argue with that, but in a beautiful way. There was a single sofa along the side of the wall, but other than that it was empty. Unlike the inside of the house, where the sad plants were a constant reminder of the former queen's demise, the veranda was a preserved part of Queen Tara's memory, perfectly unspoiled, sharing a room with time, letting it take her legacy where it pleased. It was gorgeous to MK and she felt joy and hope return to her. _Queen Tara chose me,_ MK thought, remembering Ronin's lecture, _if for no one else, I have to try for her._

Knock. Knock.

Remembering what she came out here for, she made her way across the balcony, to the edge and brushed away some leaves that were in her way. Down far below, near the entrance to the stairwell, were Grub, Mub, and Nod. Squinting, she saw the source of the knocking. Mub had a stick in his hand (if slugs have hands) and was knocking on the side of the tree, continually without pause. Grub was inspecting the circumference of the tree, while Nod sat back on his hummingbird, watching the pair.

She wanted to get their attention to ask them what they needed. She ruled out shouting, because it was early in the morning, and she didn't want to alert any creature where the hut was. She liked the privacy. After mulling it over, she remembered the bird calls her father had taught her when she was a little girl. Back when her mom was alive and they were one family, and her dad's theory was just an idea, he used to take her into the woods and teach her the different bird calls. She enjoyed getting the birds' attention and sometimes they would sing back. It's one of her greatest memories with him. _But I'm sure our next conversation will be one for the record books._

She scanned her memory for something similar to a hummingbird, then called out a fast and diverse number of notes. Nod's hummingbird looked up to the source of the call and sang back. Nod looked up and MK waved. He waved back and jumped on his hummingbird. It didn't take long for the speedy bird to reach the terrace. It came to a stop, hovering, in front of MK and turned so Nod could see her. He was wearing his leafman armor and gave her his signature smile when he saw her.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" she asked, nodding down to the mollusks.

"We're here to take you to your father," he said, "Though we assumed you'd be awake by noon, but we can wait until you're ready, then you'll have a little time to prepare yourself before you talk to the people."

A fair amount of fear returned to MK, shadowing that spark of hope that just returned. It must have shown in her eyes because Nod gave her a sympathetic smile. She shook her head and stepped back.

"I can't do it, I just-I've always stunk at public speaking. I know I'm the queen and all, but can't Ronin give a nice speech while I smile and wave in the background?"

Nod landed his hummingbird on a nearby branch and jumped over to the terrace, stumbling a bit trying to get a grip on the railing. Then he jumped over the barrier and walked over to MK. He held onto her arms which she had wrapped around herself.

"Hey," he said comfortingly, "You'll do fine. You'll have an idea of what you're going to do after you talk to your dad. And remember you're not alone. We'll all be behind you, supporting you… and I'll stay next to you the whole time, okay?"

He gently pushed her chin up to make her look into his eyes. She tried processed what he had said and not loose herself in his eyes. She gained control and, comforted by his touch, she was able to find the courage to face the day.

"Okay?" he prodded again.

MK gave a submitting smile and nodded, "Okay."

"Good," he stepped back to the railing, "So, you get ready, and I'll try to convince Mub and Grub that they can stop trying to find a way into the tree."

He hopped over the railing and jumped over to his bird, mounted it, and flew down to their friends. MK sighed and once again looked over the patio. _I can do this._

_I'll stay next to you the whole time, _MK smiled at his words, then ran inside, dodging the vines covering the floor, through the bark door, and went back up to the bedroom. She glanced around the small area and walked over to make the bed. When she walked over, however, she grazed the dying flower with her arm. She thought nothing of it until she looked back after straightening the pillows and noticed it higher up than before. Curious and careful, she approached the flower, the hope still light inside her. She reached out a hand and touched the flower like she had before, but this time she felt power flowing through her. She gasped as a life force reached through her arms and the flower became invigorated. She gave into celebration and relief as she looked at the flower. She walked backwards and leaned against the far wall and sighed. She leaned there for a while but soon noticed an uncomfortable bump on the otherwise smooth wall.

She turned around and felt the knot on the wall, confused. Then, dull but sure, the knocking began again. MK sighed at the reminder and left the wall behind. She walked to the balcony overlooking the first floor, working out what she needed to do to get ready.

First things first, though, she had to get clean. She went downstairs and reached for the door she assumed was the bathroom. She was right. Inside was a bathroom that looked surprisingly like the full sized one MK was used to. The sink, latrine, and bathtub were all made out of stone smoothed and curved. Next to the sink, on the wall, was a full length mirror. She walked over to the tub, and saw that the nozzle was a hollow stick. She turned on the water and pondered a moment about indoor plumbing worked here. As she let the tub fill up she walked over to the full length mirror and looked at herself.

Her hair was a mess and her color wasn't quite right, but she guessed that was just from the sickness. Leaning in closer, she looked at her ashy face, then jumped back in shock. Nod was right. Her eyes were brighter. She leaned forward and checked again; sure it was the trick of the light. They were still green, but not the deep green they used to be, they were an emerald color, like a jewel. Eyes don't just change colors like that, do they? She shook her head, scolding herself for being so freaked out. _I'm in a tiny civilization, went on an adventure with talking slugs and leafmen, became queen of the forest by the last dead queen, and I'm surprised my eyes are a different hue._

Again she viewed at the attractive dress she had gotten when she became queen. Looking closer she saw the top was made out of multiple overlapping leaves, covering her torso down to her hips. From then on were lily flower petals. They were wavy and curled a little at the bottom, MK imagined how beautiful the flower must be if these were the petals. She hoped to find the kind of flower that made her dress. She gently felt the petals and frowned when she noticed the wrinkles. She quickly realized she'd been in this thing two days. She quickly took it off, ran to the bedroom, and placed it on the bed.

After her bath, she searched to bathroom for something to use to dry off. She found layers of moss lying beside the sink. She wrapped one around herself and went to the bedroom. She thought about putting back on her dress, but ruled it out. If she was riding a hummingbird she wanted something less limited. She looked around the entire house, looking for a wardrobe, but found nothing. She thought about going outside and telling her friends about her dilemma, but the thought of Nod seeing her in a towel made her blush horribly. Oh, how she wished for her hoodie and jeans right now.

She gave up and retreated to the bedroom and, surrendering, leaned on the wall. It was then she remembered the knot in the wall and quickly went over to examine it. It was just a bump, barely noticeable on the even wall.

Suddenly, she had a crazy idea. She reached out and placed her hand on the bump, palm down. A smile snuck its way on her face as her palm grew warm and pick started glowing underneath her palm. Soon light looped out of her hand and made a long, skinny archway. Once it disappeared she gave the wall a push and giggled excitedly. Queen Tara's secret room. What did it hold?

She walked in and saw complete darkness. She reached out and stumbled a bit when she didn't feel anything. Then her hand hit something and her hands searched it to find a simple post. She rested her hand on it, frustrated, when the warm glow returned. She smiled when she realized what was going on. She saw the pink glow reappear, but this time it branched out in almost straight lines down the post and along the floor. It divided out along the walls, lighting up the best break MK had had all day.

Lining the walls were assortments upon assortments of outfits. Gowns, armor, t-shirts, everything lined up along the wall. The glow stayed in the walls, casting a bright pink glow on the room.

_No way,_ thought MK, _Queen Tara's secret closed._

She couldn't keep the smile off her face as she roamed around the room until she found a simple outfit of leafy pants and a white petal top. She took it down, thinking through what she was looking at. Disappointedly, she realized most of these gorgeous gowns wouldn't fit her, and her safest bets were the simple attires. Nevertheless, she was grateful for the apparel and quickly changed into it. She dried her hair with the moss, which was surprisingly more absorbent than any towel MK had ever used. She left it down, lacking a hair tie and went over to the door. She pushed it open and placed her hand on the side as she went through. Abruptly, she felt very tired and leaned on the doorframe to support her. She felt like she did sometimes when getting up too fast after laying down a long time. After the head rush passed she rubbed her eyes and composed herself. She took it easy down the stairs but stopped in front of the exit. She collected herself, preparing to face her friends and eventually her dad, and walked out the doorway.

Grub squealed in surprise when she exited. He was wearing his leafman helmet looking very… dignified.

"How did you do that?" he asked, "I've inspected this bark four times over, and not a door in sight."

"I tried to tell them but the refused my help," said Nod as he walked over. "Grub's been inspecting the knocking Mub's been making to find the entrance spot on the tree." When he looked at MK he raised his eyebrows, "Where'd you get the outfit?"

"Queen Tara," she said suspiciously. Nod looked very confused but gave up the topic.

"How are we getting to my dad?" asked MK.

"How else?" said Nod as he mounted his bird. Grub stepped to the forest gracious and whistled loudly. A hummingbird came fluttering through the trees and landed next to him. He looked at the group smugly.

"Snails can whistle?" MK whispered to Nod. He shrugged and outstretched his arm to her.

"Come on, your riding with me, Queen MK."

She grabbed his arm and hopped on to the bird behind him, "Don't call me that either," she said with a smile.

"Then what can I call you?" he turned and asked.

"I don't know… " She replied sarcastically, "My name?"

"Alright Mary Katherine" he said victoriously.

She was furious but couldn't keep the smile off her face. She was about to scold him when Mub and Grub came next to them on their hummingbird. The creature didn't seemed too pleased with the weight on its back, and stumbled a little.

MK held back a laugh, "Ready to go, Leafman Grub?"

Looking very pleased with himself he nodded and took off on his bird.

Nod laughed a little, "Please don't encourage him," then took off after them.

Surprised at the sudden takeoff, MK almost fell off backwards. She quickly leaned forwards and held onto Nod.

"I thought you'd learn to keep your arms around me by now," he yelled over the winds.

MK rolled her eyes and smiled but didn't say anything back, focusing on balancing on the bird. They flew through the trees, diving and dodging branches. At first MK was nervous going this fast, but soon she got used to it, and eventually was having fun. Nod was reckless and was taking their bird on the most dangerous paths. I mean, that's the fun way, isn't it?

The bird took a remarkably steep nose dive and quickly pulled up, barely in time, and soared up above the trees. MK laughed, excited.

"Warming up to the fast flying, are ya?" shouted Nod.

"Yeah, but it doesn't beat a deer ride," she replied.

He looked back and smiled before diving back into the forest and meeting up with Mub and Grub. After a little more flying, they reached Bomba's house. MK frowned as she saw her suitcase peeking through the grass from when she was about to leave. They landed on her front porch. MK dismounted and tried not to be completely blown away at remembering how small she really was compared to before. The door looked like a building. She took a deep breath and looked at Nod.

"Alright, I'm ready when you are"

He nodded and turned to the railing. He took a running start and jumped up 3 feet to the rail. He balanced himself once on top and ran again, this time jumping sideways towards the door, and stomping on the doorbell. After the impact he flipped backwards and landed back on the porch. He looked over at MK who had her eyebrows raised, impressed, and smiled.

It didn't take long to hear giant, but slow, footsteps running through the house. The group moved to one side of the porch, incase Bomba decided to run onto the step when he didn't see a regular person. It took a while, but eventually they saw the doorknob turn and open, and there was MK's dad looking around, confused. Nod and MK hopped on the bird and flew up to eye level with the professor. His look of amazement was quite humorous when it takes far too long.

"Oh, yes, yes, of course, Mary Katherine! I mean-MK!" he said, taking up about 30 seconds. MK sighed. This is going to be a long conversation. "Come in!" Professor Bomba said as he ran off into the house to get his helmet so he could talk to them.

Nod flew the bird into the dining room and landed on the table that was covered in scattered leafman stuff. Mub and Grub landed soon after. The group dismounted and walked across the table, looking at the discarded collection. MK was confused at the strewn mess that used to be her father's life work. She looked up at her dad when they reached the end of the table. He was fidgeting with his helmet, trying to get it on right.

"What happened here?" MK yelled up.

The professor finished tweaking the headgear and looked down at MK through the eye piece.

"Uh-can you say that again?"

"What happed to this place?" she repeated.

"Oh, um, after I thought you left I sort of gave up on the leafmen," he said. "Pretty bad timing," he added with a small smile.

"Oh" is all MK could think to say. Her guilt returned as she remembered the harsh note she had left for her dad to find.

"Professor," Nod stepped in, "we need to discuss MK's situation as queen. Your position matters greatly."

"Oh, yes, of course, right away," he looked curiously at the group, "Are those slugs?"

MK sighed. This tiny conversation had lasted around 3 minutes. They weren't going to get anywhere with the leafmen ahead in time and the professor's curiosity in the tiny world. She sat down on the edge of the table and rested her head on her hand, thinking about how much easier it would be if her dad was smaller or they were bigger. Grub was just explaining to her dad that he was indeed a snail, not a slug. MK laughed at her father's face at the mollusk speaking and wished he could see all of the wonderful things she had.

Suddenly, the group turned to a book on Bomba's desk. Its pages were fluttering like a wind was blowing them over, but MK didn't feel any draft. They watched the book interestedly, when it abruptly stopped. A confused Nod looked over at MK who shrugged, not aware of what was happening. She turned her attention back to her dad when chaos broke loose.

Papers, sticky notes, and book pages flew off the screens and top the of Bomba's desk in a swirl, flying them across the room. MK stood up and took a step away from the whirling cyclone that was forming in front of her. Nod pulled her back just in time as a giant book flew past. All the papers in the room rapidly made MK lose sight of her dad. She held on to Nod and closed her eyes as the whirlwind got worse. Nod covered her with his arms until the storm reached its climax and started to settle down. The wind decreased until papers stopped swirling around the room and settled everywhere. MK's mouth dropped when she saw what was in front of her.

Her dad was laying on the desk in front of them. He sat up and looked around the room, discombobulated until his eyes found MK. His face turned from confusion to disbelief when he looked around again. Nod let go of MK and she stepped forward to help her dad stand up. For about a minute, the professor was speechless, just staring around the room until he gathered his wits. He breathed, exasperated, and looked at the group.

"Hoooooooow didyoudothat?" he said. Everyone looked at MK. For a moment she didn't notice all eyes on her until she glanced over at Nod. Her eyebrows rose as she looked around.

"Me? No, I didn't do that," she said quickly.

Nod snorted, "Well then who else in this room has magical powers?"

Shocked, MK realized she was the only one in the room who could have done that. _Queen Tara turned me small… maybe I can do that to others..._

Professor Bomba stepped in front of his dazed daughter. He sighed and looked proudly at her. He opened his arms and MK walked into them for a hug. When he pulled away he sighed again.

"You're the queen!" he said incredulously. MK smiled and nodded. He looked over her shoulder at her friends.

He walked passed her and examined Nod, who looked quiet uncomfortable. He poked his armor and inspected his helmet.

"And you're a leafman?" he asked in awe.

Nod glanced at MK who what about to burst with laughter and answered, "Um… yeah"

"Incredible…" he walked past him and leaned down to look at Mub.

"Woah, woah, woah, back it up," said the slug.

Bomba laughed, delighted.

"This is unbelievable," he turned to Grub.

Grub stood tall waiting for Bomba to assess his leafman skills.

"And you're a… snail who likes helmets?"

Grub sighed, "No, I'm a leafman."

"Ah… right" he looked over at Nod and back to Grub, very confused.

"Dad" said MK.

"Oh right, yes, I'm being compulsive. Sorry"

MK smiled as her dad stuck out his hand to Mub. The slug hesitantly shook his hand, looking quite uneasy. He then moved onto Grub to shake his hand.

"Dad, this is Grub, Mub, and-"

Her dad had stepped up to Nod at squinted at him, then quickly looked over at MK and back. Nod leaned back from him, eyes wide, and glanced at MK, whose eyebrows were raised, uncertain. When an uncomfortable silence continued MK said, "And this is Nod"

Her father stepped back and stood up straight. Still squinting slightly, he slowly raised his hand out to Nod. Cautiously Nod shook his hand.

"Professor Bomba. Pleased to meet you," her dad said stiffly.

"The pleasure's mine," replied Nod carefully. The handshake lasted a little too long and was followed by the most awkward 30 seconds of MK's life. MK decided to break the silence.

"So, Dad, do you think we could talk… alone?"

The professor seemed to recuperate and nodded to MK. Nod looked relieved to be out of that situation. MK jumped off the side of the table onto the floor. She looked up to find her dad looking down wide eyed.

"Just jump," she called up. Hesitantly, Bomba jumped down and landed wobbly. MK smiled at his awe stricken face.

"Fascinating. The size to strength ratio allows you to jump higher. I wonder how high the limit is. Obviously its like us with the dependence on strength and ability, but-."

"Yep we can jump really high"

Bomba smiled as they walked into the foyer. They jumped up to the first stair and sat down with their backs on the second. They sat in silence for a while, MK trying to gather her thoughts and find a place to start, luckily her dad pulled through.

"Do you want to be queen?" he asked.

MK was surprised at the frank question. What she was even more surprised about was that she didn't know the answer.

"I don't know- there's a lot to consider-I mean, this is a GIANT decision, right?" she rambled on a bit until she didn't even know what she was saying. All the thoughts that were bouncing around in her head found their exit and came out in a slur of nonsense. In a split moment a jumble of thought became an organized chain in her mind. In one second she found her answer.

"Yes"

The professor smiled and patted her knee.

"Alright then"

"Really? That's it? I thought we'd have to work out all the little things, you know, the boring stuff."

"Yeah, sorry to say we do, but I wanted to get this out of the way first. All of the little things are unimportant when it comes to _you_. It took a while for me to realize that. But I do now, and I don't want you to do something you don't want to do."

MK smiled at him, "Thanks dad."

He nodded, "Now then, let's go back in there with your leafmen friend and the talking mollusks"

They got up and hopped down the stair. They walked into the room and found Nod checking out the Boggan armor on the table. Mub and Grub were talking over by the birds. MK and Bomba jumped up the table, though it took a couple tries for Bomba to get it, and walked towards the birds. When Nod saw them coming he smiled and walked over.

"Everything all worked out?" he asked MK.

She smiled, "Yeah, except for… well everything."

**Okay sorry I had to cut it off somewhere! I wish I could keep writing but it's going on six days and I don't like to see you guys waiting! Okay so I figured the flower magic is getting annoying and the hidden closed is sort of… idk amateur? Whatever, I thought about making her make her own outfit, but she would need to basically kill leaves and flowers and I feel that'd be wrong. I added a new 'power' obvious and-ohyeah-I have big plans for the porch ****. (Not like that you sickos! ~ But imahyper1 I didn't think about that till you said something! ~ :-[ oh. ) So Bomba was sort of a challenge for me. I saw the movie but didn't pay much attention to him so I didn't get a good sense of his character. I've been trying to take my brother as an excuse to see the characters' attitudes, but I haven't yet (plus you can never get enough Nod/MK) I still have big plans for them btw! **

***SPOILER***

**Its not gunna be all happy and lovey-dovey for them because…. Well I'm ****evil****! I love emotion (negative and positive) and I like to make people feel both (what is one without the other?) **

***OVER***

**Okay that wasn't really a spoiler…. Anyway back to Bomba. I had to imagine how he would react to everything so I based it on this: he **_**is **_**a dad. I tried to picture how a dad would react to things related to his daughter. For Nod I liked the idea of a suspicious protective feel (cause I think its funny) and for the rest I pictured he just cared about MK. **

**As you probably noticed this is my longest chapter so far (more words than my first two chapters combined) and I hope it was worth the wait ****. So I STILL haven't gotten to a lot of fluff and shippings but I guess this stuff is important. And ohmergerd I just realized I have no idea what MK's speech is going to be…. Oh well I hope you stay tuned to find out what I conjure up! Thanks for all of ya who commentedfavoritedfollowedblahblah if you want my soft heartfelt stuff reread the above authors note ^_^ (but I really do appreciate it!) LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS! I'll cya next time! Au revior!**

**P.S. you're welcome for finally not ending a chapter with MK passing out :D**


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